"This place is amazing!" Galandir exclaimed in wonder, looking eagerly over the many plants that grew in the many neat rows made into the soil. The farmer demon family was giving Morrigan and her whole retinue a tour around the land.

  "Thank you kindly. We work hard to grow these vegetables, but not many appreciate our efforts," Melinda said with a bittersweet smile.

  "Really? But people all over the Underworld eat your vegetables, do they not? Like the blue citrus over there is a common guest on my plate in the palace," Morrigan said.

  "Oh, yes, everyone is eager to eat it, but nobody is eager to grow it. Farming in the Underworld is difficult and tricky business, but all everyone says is that we should have taken up a more demon-like profession," the fire demoness said with a downcast glance.

  "But growing food is an honorable profession. Without farmers like you, nobody would have anything to eat," Morrigan said. She couldn't quite understand this demon mentality of being so negligent towards food.

  "Many demons believe that they could easily survive by just eating the meat of the wild monster they hunt," Viana said with a sigh. "Fools clearly have no inkling of a well-rounded diet. Not to mention that if all of us hunted for our food every day, then we'd run out of things to hunt pretty quickly."

  "Oh, it's so reassuring to hear that our future generation understands the importance of farming," Gunther said and smiled at Morrigan and Viana. "I pray that Your Highnesses will remember us when you take over your father."

  "That is still some time away," Morrigan chuckled awkwardly, not wanting to start any political discussions right now. "What about the animals that you grow here? What do you use them for?"

  So their tour continued as they over what could mostly be described as cattle. Underworld versions of sheep, goats, chickens and cows. This means that they looked mostly like the regular versions of these animals only scarier – like, for example, the cows had sharp canine teeth while goats had three sets of horns. And as it turned out the bearbull was not much scarier than a regular bull – it was just hairier.

  "And this is our most recently built fire-proof stable. We built them for salamanders which we are planning to raise on our farms, however, they are currently empty. We'd be more than happy to allow your wondrous dragon to remain here for a night. Or two. Or as long as you like really," Melinda said, as her eyes scanned over Haku with unhidden interest.

  "Thank you so much for your kindness," Morrigan said, wondering whether the demons would attempt to do anything Haku secretly. But she quickly dismissed her worries – Haku could take care of himself.

  "It's no trouble at all. You may leave your dragon keeper here, my husband will show him everything he needs. Meanwhile, why don't we head inside and I'll show you your rooms?" The fire demoness beckoned them to follow and they obliged.

  "Am I glad that you found this place, Morrigan. Everywhere we looked in the city, all the demons were scowling at us. Well, me and Viana and Azrael. They didn't seem to mind the servants and the guards," Deziara whispered.

  "I have to apologize for that. Many demons here believe that we'd be better off living as part of the Infernal Kingdom due to many of us having infernal ancestry," Melinda explained. "What they forget is that we are still mostly demons rather than infernal."

  "So you wouldn't want to be a part of the Infernal Kingdom?" Viana asked carefully.

  "No. Infernals care less for farming than even demons since they can survive from inorganic matter like specific minerals and lava. We cannot, even with the infernal blood in our veins. We need actual food," the demoness shook her head disapprovingly. "But don't worry – nobody will really do anything bad to you. They are just a bunch of grumps, is all."

  I really hope that nobody in this city has decided to work together with our enemy. But just in case something does happen, we'll be ready. The guards are already on high alert even if they don't show that.

  As Morrigan and her sisters followed Melinda inside the farmhouse, Melanos appeared next to them, nearly making Morrigan scream out in shock. The sudden appearance of the spymaster still startled her every time since the demon looked as sinister as they came. She always had to remind herself that Melanos was in fact a friend, not a foe. Somehow her subconscious had a lot of trouble accepting it, apparently.

  "Your Highness, there is suspicious activity going on in the city," Melanos whispered quietly to Morrigan.

  "Are the guards aware?"

  "Yes, Your Highness."

  "Good. Keep an eye out. Inform me if something changes," she whispered to him. The spymaster inclined his head towards her and then disappeared back into the shadows.

  "Is everything alright, Your Highness?" Melinda asked a bit nervously, no doubt being put off by the spymaster's sudden appearance.

  "Just one of my guards reporting their progress with gathering supplies," she replied with a smile. The demoness nodded and led them to the second floor of their house. It was surprisingly spacious for such a small house and had plenty of guest rooms that the princesses could use. Melinda showed them all the guest bedrooms, so they each could choose whichever one they preferred the most. Morrigan's eyes were already set on one particular bedroom – with a view that overlooked most of the town.

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  "I'll let you all get comfy and get started on the dinner. It should be ready in about an hour or so," Melinda said and with a bow, left princesses on their own.

  "What did Melanos say?" Viana asked as soon as they were alone.

  "Suspicious activity in the town. I believe it's likely that we'll get ambushed tonight," Morrigan said, and Deziara audibly gasped.

  "Again?"

  "When else? This is a perfect chance for them. They somehow managed to confuse our coachmen which I wish we could replace right now, but with demons this hostile towards us, we cannot risk it. It is possible that they would have ambushed us somewhere in the dark but…"

  "But since I had Galandir shine light around us, we would have seen them coming right away," Morrigan finished.

  "Yes. So we likely avoided the worst thing that they were planning. However, we ended up in a rather unfriendly city where we are unlikely to receive aid from locals. More likely than not, they are gathering their forces to overpower us with numbers," Viana said.

  "But… that's really, really bad. What do we do?" Deziara whined.

  "We should teleport away from here. We cannot remain," Viana said firmly.

  "Then we'd have to leave most of the servants and guards behind," Morrigan retorted.

  "They're after you and after us, not after the guards or the servants," Viana pointed out.

  "So they're just going to leave them alone?" Morrigan objected, and her eldest sister fell silent.

  "So we cannot leave and we cannot stay. What do we do?" Deziara asked, looking from one sister to the other.

  "We're going to wait for the opportune moment," Morrigan said with a mischievous smile. Both the older sisters looked at each other nervously. They both knew from this expression that Morrigan was without a doubt plotting something.

  ***

  The night was nerve-wracking. Silence seemed heavier than normal and darkness seemed to be stronger even for this already dark part of the Underworld. The inhabitants of Agnicaris Town could feel it, but they merely dismissed it due to the presence of royals. But Morrigan along with the rest of her retinue knew that among the shadows something was coming.

  Guards were standing vigilantly around and near the farm, observing every little movement in the dark. Some of the Count Etheles' elite knights were patrolling around the city, watching out for any suspicious behaviour although to the locals they appeared as the most suspicious entities themselves.

  Everyone seemed to be waiting for something but nobody knew what exactly. It was the quiet before the storm, even when nobody knew what storm was coming for them – hurricane, snowstorm or something completely different entirely. Morrigan stared out of the window of her bedroom, looking over the firebulbs in the farm, waiting for the mysterious enemy to appear. The little switch in her hands was the only thing that seemed to keep her grounded.

  "Your Highness," Melanos suddenly appeared behind her, kneeling on the ground.

  "Report," she turned towards him, her expression icy cold.

  "The town is surrounded from all sides. Nobody has entered the town and the enemy is using the dark to hide their presence," the spymaster said, and Morrigan's heart sank. She knew there would be numerous enemies, but the thought that they would be able to completely surround the town terrified Morrigan.

  "Is there no way to slip past them?"

  "None. Their numbers vastly outnumber our own and I believe there are more joining their ranks as we speak."

  "Any idea as to who they might be affiliated with?"

  "It is difficult to say – there are representatives of many races there, even some demons. They might be affiliated with the Fallen Kingdom, however it is unlikely since we have been keeping a close eye on them ever since signing the peace treaty."

  "But who else could gather so many people from different races to work under them?" Morrigan asked, a bit of frustration seeping into her voice.

  "I believe our safest bet is to assume that it is another demon," Melanos said, his voice sharp and cold. "However, currently we need to worry about your escape. You and your sisters need to return to the Demon Castle."

  "And leave everyone else behind?"

  "It is your life that matters, not that of servants. You should shadow teleport right away while Lord Azrael takes care of your sisters," Melanos said, but Morrigan shook her head stubbornly.

  "No, we are not running. If I run right now, then this tour is well and truly over, but we haven't even gone to the third sacred place yet. No, it is time we learned who our mysterious enemy is," Morrigan said resolutely and looked down at her pendant. She touched it and channeled her magic inside.

  "Hello, Morrigan. Couldn't sleep?" resounded the sleepy voice of the Demon King.

  "Father, I need your help," she said resolutely.

  "Of course, little one. What do you need?"

  "Could you teleport to where I am right now?" she asked.

  "Of course. Just channel a bit more of your magic into the pendant and I should be able to follow your magic to the right location," the King replied. Morrigan did as he said, channeling her magic inside the pendant. After a few tense, silent minutes, a dark shadow appeared on the floor, and out from it rose Alphegor, dressed in full battle armor.

  "Your Majesty!" Melanos bowed before the King who was scanning the fields outside the window as if he could sense the enemy.

  "Don't worry, Morrigan. I'll take care of those bastards real quickly," Alphegor said with an evil sort of grin appearing on his face.

  "No, Father! If you just slaughter them all, we won't know who is sending people after us. Not to mention that the fighting could involve innocent people. We should attempt to keep things peaceful," she said.

  "That'll be more difficult…" the King growled, looking rather annoyed at the prospect of holding his power back..

  "It's alright – I have a plan!" she said resolutely and showed Alphegor a little switch that she had been holding in her hands the whole evening. The King looked at it quizzically, then looked into his daughter's eyes and smiled. He trusted Morrigan.